She Did Not Notice Him
by angelofmusicwithashotgun
Summary: Modern AU. Enjolras is an artist with a political future, Eponine is a student struggling to get through life. They see each other every day, but Eponine does not notice him. What if a tragedy brought on by the Patron-Minette forces her to finally notice? E/e, M/c, and onesided E/R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hi! This is a story that's been in my head for a while and I just had to put it out there. This is heavily based on the musical with somme aspects of the book. This is my first fanfic and I hope it goes well. I hope to update every other day or so (though school is school and idk how much that'll effect everything) also this is not beta'd but if you're interested in being a beta for this then PM me or something :P Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it! Read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Miserables.**

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She did not notice _him_.

Not at first. Not when Marius was speaking emphatically about his new love, breaking her heart with each beautiful word. She remained glued to her seat, staring at Marius as he spoke of the beautiful blonde they had seen in the park.

"It's love at first sight! I swear to you when I locked eyes with her, my entire world shifted! I see the world better, now, or at least brighter, I think. Oh, Eponine, what a beautiful feeling! Have you ever felt this way?" Yes, I have, Eponine thought. I felt this way the moment you came into my life Marius! Why can't you see me?

The loud café began to grow quiet as her friends began to listen in. They all knew of Eponine's unrequited love for her best friend and they knew it must hurt her to have this conversation. The Les Amis stared at her with a mix of pity for her and anger towards Marius. Bossuet and Feuilly were trying to gently calm the seemingly seething Bahorel while Jehan was watching the scene unfold like he watched bad reality tv. Joly, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac were pretending to play on their phones, but their eyes darted to Eponine and Marius every few seconds. Grantaire was staring on silently, nurturing a whiskey. His eyes met Eponine's and he shook his head.

Grantaire was different from anyone Eponine had ever known. He listened. No one else seemed to, but he did. He never lied about how he felt either. He was funny and kind and weird, but Eponine was drawn to his friendship the moment they first met when he bowed and kissed her hand upon meeting her.

She did not notice, though, the angelic looking man in the corner, staring contentedly at the notebook in front of him. He looked up every few seconds and hurriedly erased whatever he had been writing.

"Of course not, but you will one day." And with that began another rant of his darling. "She is my light, Eponine! She is my future, I feel it! But how am I going to find her? I don't even know her name!" Marius gasped, his face contorting into one of total panic. "But…what if she doesn't feel the same way? What will I do? I have to find her at once! But how?" Marius shook his head and continued to think aloud of how he'll find the blonde. Eponine took this moment to stare at her best friend.

Marius Pontmercy. His copper hair and award winning smile with pearly white teeth matched with his green eyes and freckles gave him a sort of boyish look, but his intelligence made him more of a man than boy. He was a student at the local university along with Eponine. She had met him during a class change during the first week of school, where he had accidentally walked into her (Eponine had always fancied herself invisible. Apparently she wasn't the only one). After picking up her books off the ground, Marius had asked for her name and had walked her to her next class (which they shared) happened everything fell into place after that. He was a junior and she had just started her sophomore year. He was studying business management because his grandfather owned a million dollar, international retail store that Marius would one day take over. Eponine was studying Middle Childhood Education, hoping to one day give students a better chance than she had. While Marius was well off…actually, to put it frankly he was "hella rich" (words of their friend Grantaire), Eponine was struggling to get through school on a scholarship and a job at the Café Musain.

Her thoughts drifted to to Marius' new love. Eponine couldn't lie, not even to herself, about how beautiful the girl was. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, curvy. Eponine knew she couldn't compete with her mousey brown hair and boring brown eyes and too skinny frame.

Her thoughts continued to wander.

She didn't notice the vaguely angry and slightly drunk Grantaire stagger out the door muttering "I can't watch", nor did she notice the man in the corner of the cafe glance up from his notebook to concentrate on her. She did not notice him frown at the page when he looked back.

She did, however, notice when Marius said something that made her practically stop breathing.

"Eponine, you saw her today, too, didn't you? Of course you did considering you were with me!" Yes, She thought. I did see her. I saw as she took you away from me without ever uttering a word. "Eponine, you must do something for me! As my most trusted and loved friend," Eponine's ears immediately turned red as her mind spun with the word 'loved'. Maybe the blonde didn't win all of her beloved's affections after all! "You have to find her for me!"

_Oh._

There was a sharp intake of breath, both from her and the Amis.

_Oh. Great._

Marius looked up at her expectantly. Oh, fuck it. Eponine thought. You probably won't find her anyways. Then you can tell Marius there's no hope and he'll give up and then might finally realize that you've been here all along!

With these thoughts, she looked into Marius' eyes and whispered, "Sure."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are truly a miracle, Ponine!" Marius threw his arms around her, and for that, the pain was worth it.

Eponine smiled. "Anything for you, Marius."

She noticed how brightly he smiled back at her.

She did not notice _him_ leaving the café in a hurry.

Nor did she notice the notebook he had left in his absence.

She did notice the time though, and excused herself to begin her shift at the Café Musain.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I am so sorry, oh my God. School has been kicking my butt and I am so sorry for not updating! However, do to this "polar vortex" thing, I have off of school 'til next Tuesday, so hopefully I'll be updating a bit til then. This chapter is Enjolras and it's kind of short so sorry about that. Any way tell me what you think! Thanks for reading :D**

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The moment Enjolras stepped into the loud café Musain he felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. He saw a group of semi-familiar men gathered together, talking quite loudly to one another and staring at a couple a few tables away. Enjolras had seen the group before, the Les Amis he believed, but he had never before laid eyes on the woman in a Musain uniform, talking amiably with a member of the Les Amis.

Enjolras stood paralyzed in the doorway, unable to do anything but stare at her. He had never before noticed women as anything but human, but this woman, she was…otherworldly. Enjolras had heard love struck men compare their loves to goddesses and deemed it ridiculous. But now, now he seemed to understand.

She wasn't beautiful by society's standards. No, she was too skinny and looked too tired. Her eyes had permanent bags under them and she wore little to no make up. But she was still beautiful. Her smile was genuine and bright and seemed too big for her face. Her brown eyes shone with a twinkle like the stars in the sky. She was something to behold.

The woman laughed loudly at something her partner said and the melodic sound knocked Enjolras out of his reverie. He shook his head and walked towards the counter. The cashier had to ask him twice what he wanted to order because he still seemed to be in a daze. He ordered a simple black coffee and stalked towards an empty table in the corner. He pulled out one of his many novels from his messenger bag and tried his best to read it.

He couldn't get past the first sentence due to the seemingly never ending sound of her laughter. The more Enjolras tried to concentrate the more he couldn't.

He tried not to notice the way her eyes brightened in that fools presence. He tried in vain to ignore the way her smile seemed to brighten the entire room. He attempted not to see the way she wore her heart on her sleeve and definitely ignored the how her eyes were an open book.

Needless to say, his futile attempt to ignore her did not work. In fact, the effect it had was the exact opposite. Instead, he become hyper aware of her presence. He tried to turn away, to think of anything but her, but failed. Finally, knowing there wasn't much of an option, Enjolras pulled his sketchpad from the bag along with a pencil. He might as well put his inability to focus on anything but her to something of good use. So, he began to draw her.

Enjolras was engrossed in his sketch. He tried his absolute best to capture every little detail. The tilt of her smile, the dimples that never seemed to go away. It wasn't until he received a text that he realized what time it was. He had to be at an important meeting for his father's campaign in five minutes! Enjolras hurriedly finished his coffee and began packing his things, his mind still focused on barely anything but her. He quickly exited the Musain and forced himself to rid himself of the thought of her. He didn't even know her name! He knew he never stood a chance regardless, so he made a pact to do his very best to forget he ever saw her.

Enjolras stepped out into the rainy afternoon and went on his way.

He did not notice that he forgot his notebook.


	3. Chapter 3

**Apparently there are perks to being caged in the house for a week: I get to write! So here's another chapter. I hope you like it :D If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism I'd love to hear it! Just be nice please! Thanks for reading.**

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Eponine Thenardier looked up into the Musain bathroom mirror, her cheeks burning red and eyes stinging with unshed tears. Her day had gone from bad to worse. It originally sucked because of Marius' inability to shut up about his dear beloved (whose name he doesn't even know) and then asking her to find the stranger! Of course, Eponine had agreed to it, but how could she say no to the love of her life? And it's not as though the girl feels the same way towards Marius. So, Eponine got through the first part of her crappy day by believing that everything with Marius would work out. But, like everything for Eponine, the day got worse.

First, a snobby business man kept yelling at her while she was trying to take his order. She "hadn't realized it was rude to interrupt while someone was taking an important phone call". Eponine managed to keep her cool for the most part, though she did think about spitting in his drink. After he stalked off, she walked from table to table to clean and make sure everyone was satisfied when some little gamin boy began running around the café. Just as Eponine picked up a half empty cup of coffee, the boy crashed into her, knocking her and the coffee down.

She stumbled a few feet back, cup still in hand and coffee soaking the front of her only work shirt, until the back of her knees hit a chair. She sat down and felt as though she was sitting on something else so she stood and tried to regain her balance and whatever dignity she had left. Eponine looked around the café to find the little boy, but he must have disappeared out into the Parisian streets.

Eponine shook her head and looked down to the damage of her shirt. Crap, she thought, I'm going to have to buy a new one. There's no way this stain is going to get out, that's for sure. But she was not too sure of how she'd get enough money for a new shirt, Gavroche's school supplies and the bills. She shrugged. She could get by with the little she'd gotten from pawning off her mother's old necklace (which her mother had stolen, but that's beside the point).

She had turned around to make sure the coffee hadn't gotten on the table and chair when she saw it. It was a leather-bound book in pristine condition. Eponine picked it up and, against her better judgment, decided to flip through.

The first pages were intricate sketches of sunsets and the Eiffel Tower and the Seine at dawn. Bur a few pages in, the sketches became darker- more real. A majority of them were of the homeless. Some were alone, but the best sketches were of the families. They leaned on each other with hand outstretched, begging the passersby. Some were of children crying and a few of the subjects were people Eponine recognized from her previous life.

The last page, however, was completely different. It made Eponine's heart drop and her blood turn to ice.

The last page was of her.

It was beautiful- too beautiful for her to recognize it at first.

Eponine dropped the book and ran to the bathroom.

"That wasn't real. C'mon, 'Ponine, get your shit together. You're hallucinating." Eponine told herself. "The almost fall you just had clearly fucked with your head."

There was a knock at the door. "Hey Eponine?" It was Musichetta, the Café Musain's owner. "Could you close up tonight? I have a date with Joly and Bossuet tonight after third shift and I can't be late."

Eponine glanced at the door. "Sure thing, Chetta"

Closing isn't too bad, Eponine thought. She could even bring Gavroche for third shift so she could make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

And maybe the owner of the notebook would return.

* * *

Meanwhile, after a boring meeting with his father, Enjolras leaned comfortably back in his office. Having finished the campaign slogan, he figured he earned a break to work on his art. Bringing his bag up to his desk, he looked through it.

What? Where is it? Enjolras thought, panicking.

Oh no.

Shit.

He left it at the café.

_Where she could find it._


End file.
